PayScale Index Forecasts Minimal Wage Growth of 0.3 Percent for Q3

Results show few industries experienced wage growth in Q2 and real wages are down almost 8 percent, as wages buy less today than in 2006

Seattle, WA – July 8, 2014 – Today, PayScale, Inc., the leader in cloud compensation data and software for businesses and individuals, released the Q2 2014 PayScale Index which tracks quarterly and annual trends in compensation and also provides a U.S. national wage forecast for the coming quarter. The Index shows inconsistent wage growth across the board, as some industries such as IT and oil and gas experienced solid year-over-year gains, while wage growth in other industries actually declined. The PayScale Index also forecasts national wage growth in Q3 will experience a slight uptick of 0.3 percent, resulting in sluggish annual wage growth of 1.9 percent. In addition, the PayScale Index shows real wage growth is down almost 8 percent since 2006, a measure that is calculated by analyzing nominal wage growth and the average change in price of a fixed basket of goods and services.

“Today, the income for typical full time, private industry worker actually buys them less than it did in 2006. Annual U.S. wage growth was 1.8 percent last quarter, but inflation in Q2 was the highest it’s been in three years,” said Katie Bardaro, lead economist at PayScale. “As a result, the high inflation essentially wiped out wage growth and consumers experienced no real wage growth in terms of their actual purchasing power.”

Here are some other key results from the Q2 2014 PayScale Index:

The mining, oil and gas industry experienced an impressive 20.5 percent increase in wage growth since 2006. This industry has seen the highest total wage growth each quarter during the last eight years with an increasing lead on all other industries.

Wage growth for both information technology and engineering jobs was 11.2 percent higher last quarter when compared to 2006. IT jobs showed a 2.6 percent annual gain in Q2.

There are signs real estate may be recovering, as the industry saw the third best annual wage growth in Q2 of 2.1 percent. However, the major wage declines of 2013 mean the industry has only gained 7 percent since 2006.

The accommodation and food service industry continues to struggle, as it experienced an annual drop in wages of 0.3 percent; the only negative growth for any industry in the Index. This industry also experienced the smallest wage growth since 2006 at only 4.2 percent.

Annual national wage growth in Canada was 0.8 percent, less than the U.S. growth of 1.8 percent. Vancouver, B.C. beat out the two oil cities of Edmonton, AB and Calgary, AB for Canadian metros with annual wage growth of 1.1 percent, while Edmonton, AB and Calgary, AB had growth of 0.8 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively.

In the U.K., wages increased 0.9 percent between Q1 and Q2 2014, the highest quarterly growth in two years. Annual wage growth was 1.2 percent in Q2, lagging behind the U.S. at 1.8 percent, but above Canada 0.8 percent. U.K. national wages are up 8.5 percent since 2006.

To view the entire interactive Q2 2014 PayScale Index which reflects wage trends across various industries, job categories, company sizes and major metros, please visit: https://www.payscale.com/payscale-index.

About The PayScale Index:

The PayScale Index follows changes in total cash compensation for full-time, private industry employees in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. The PayScale Index also includes:

A forecast of the National U.S. PayScale Index for Q3 2014

A PayScale Real Wage Index, which tracks changes in wages adjusted for inflation since 2006

For more information on The PayScale Index, please visit the methodology and FAQ pages.

About PayScale:

Creator of the largest database of individual compensation profiles in the world containing more than 40 million salary profiles, PayScale, Inc. provides an immediate and precise snapshot of current market salaries to employees and employers through its online tools and software. PayScale’s products are powered by innovative algorithms that dynamically acquire, analyze and aggregate compensation information for millions of individuals in real-time. Publisher of the quarterly PayScale Index ™, PayScale’s subscription software products for employers include PayScale MarketRate™, PayScale Insight™, and PayScale Insight Expert™. PayScale’s cloud compensation software is used by more than 3,000 customers including Cummins, Warby Parker, Zendesk, Clemson University and Covenant Dove. For more information, please visit: www.payscale.com or follow PayScale on Twitter: http://twitter.com/payscale.